Fehr, Amy - Mythology of masculinity in LotR

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Fehr 1 Amy Fehr The Mythology of Masculinity in The Lord of the Rings Tolkien’s epic fantasy masterpiece The Lord of the Rings is a story about a group of individuals and their plight to save Middle-earth from destruction by the dark lord Sauron. Though the characters in Tolkien’s novel come from a variety of races, there is an underlying factor that binds a majority of these individuals together – they are male. Despite the overwhelming number of men in The Lord of the Rings, a majority of Tolkien criticism concerning gender focuses on the female characters in the novel. Though the subject of masculinity is often underrepresented in both The Lord of the Rings scholarship and gender criticism, considering masculinity in Tolkien’s epic is crucial to understanding the mythology of gender that Tolkien creates in The Lord of the Rings. “Masculinity” is a difficult topic to discuss in the world of Middle-earth because of the variety of different races and cultures present within this world.1 The discussion of masculinity becomes fruitful, however, when considering that The Lord of the Rings takes place in a period of transition in Middleearth between the Third and Fourth Ages, in which the race of Men becomes dominant in Middle-earth. Gandalf eloquently expresses the changing of times after the battle of Pelannor Fields; he states: “The Third Age of the world is ended, and the new age is begun; and it is your task to order its beginning and to preserve what may be preserved. For though much has been saved, much must now pass away. . . And all the lands that you see, and those that lie round them, shall be dwellings of Men. For the time comes of the Dominion of Men” (Tolkien, Return of the King 269). This transition represents a time in which traditions must either be preserved or forsaken and new identities may be built; it is during this transitional time period in Middle-earth in which Tolkien constructs an ideal masculinity for Men of the new age.

1

See Holly Crocker’s discussion of race and masculinity in her contribution to Reading The Lord of the Rings: New Writing on Tolkien’s Classic.

Fehr 2 Because Tolkien allegedly wrote The Lord of the Rings as a mythology for England (Tolkien, Letters 230-1), the transition of masculinity from the Third to Fourth age of Middle-earth ultimately represents a mythology of masculinity for England. Tolkien utilizes the concept of double-temporality to create an idealized masculinity that exists in his fantastic world of the past but also reflects the ideal masculinity of his present. Tolkien’s idealized masculinity in The Lord of the Rings is rooted in the history of Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings chronicles but a small story in the mythos of Tolkien’s grander tale; it is also one set it more recent times. In The Lord of the Rings, some of the men who reign in the Fourth Age have gender characteristics that seem to be associated with the men of ancient Numenor, which was an island that the Valar made for the Edain before the coming of the Second Age. Tolkien’s idealized masculinity, then, stems from some of the most ancient men within the story of Middle-earth. Comparing the masculinities of Faramir and Boromir of Gondor is a useful way to discuss the transition of masculinity that seemingly occurs at the end of the Fourth Age. Analysis of Boromir and Faramir is particularly valuable because of their relationship as brothers; their similar background lends itself to be a control, of sorts, and can allow the reader to examine more clearly how their gender affects their roles as soldier, son, and citizen. Boromir, who can easily be characterized as a traditionally heroic character, represents more conventional ideals of the masculine. Faramir, on the other hand, seems to conform to a more inclusive, modern definition of masculinity. Through Boromir’s death and Faramir’s transition into the Fourth Age, Tolkien creates a mythology for the transition from the traditional masculine stereotype to a more contemporary, inclusive ideal of gender and masculinity.

Fehr 3 Works Cited Bowman, Mary R. “Refining the Gold: Tolkien, The Battle of Maldon, and the Northern Theory of Courage.” Tolkien Studies 7 (2010): 91-115. Print. Chance, Jane. “Tolkien and the Other: Race and Gender in Middle-Earth.” Tolkien and the Modern Middle Ages. Ed. Jane Chance and Alfred K. Siewers. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2005): 171186. Print. Faludi, Susan. Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man. New York: William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1999. Print. Shippey, Tom. J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring. 1954. New York: Ballantine Books, 2001. Print. ---. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter. London: Harper Collins, 1995. Print. ---. The Return of the King. 1955. New York, Ballantine Books, 2001. Print. ---. The Two Towers. 1954. New York: Ballantine Books, 2001. Print. Traister, Bryce. “Academic Viagra: the Rise of American Masculinity Studies.” American Quarterly 52.2 (2000): 274-304. Print. Tyson, Lois. “Feminist Criticism.” Critical Theory Today. New York: Routledge, 2006. 83-113. Print. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. 1929. eBooks@Adelaide. The University of Adelaide, 2006. Print.